1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the telephone art, and in particular relates to methods for repairing telephone equipment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years it has been a common practice to avoid unsightly overhead telephone lines and utility poles, especially in residential areas, through the use of underground cables. These underground cables, while enhancing the quality of the environment, greatly increase the cost of providing telephone service to the subscriber. For example, in order to repair a severed underground cable, it is frequently necessary to utilize plows to expose the cable to be repaired.
Further, many of the state utility commissions have imposed stringent requirements on telephone companies to reinstate interrupted service or provide new service to a subscriber in a specified period of time. For example, regulations of the Public Service Commission for the State of Florida require that interrupted service be reinstated within 24 hours after notification, and new service installed in 3 days where facilities are available.
In the case of a subscriber station served by a severed underground cable or a request for a new service, it is frequently not possible to have a plow on site and the cable repaired or a new service established within the time set by such regulations. Therefore, it is often necessary for the on site repair or installation crew to string conventional, overhead telephone two-wire conductor cable across the ground between the local terminal box and the subscriber's building. This type of cable is designed to withstand extreme environmental conditions, and typically has a tensile strength on the order of 600 pounds. When laying on the ground, this type of cable poses a potential trip hazard.
United States Patents which disclosed various types of electrical conductors, including flat ribbon type conductors, include the following: U.S. Pat. Nos. 377,188 to Schefbauer; 1,620,562 to Licht; 2,128,554 to Baylis; and 2,155,060 to Phillips.